Turkmenistan opens up media--in name only

Turkmenistan is trying to burnish its image by passing its
first law on press freedom. On January 4th, President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov signed a law that bans press
censorship, bars the government from monopolizing news outlets, and grants the public
access to all forms of information, including independent and foreign reporting.

Unfortunately, reform appears to be only posturing and the
most repressive and hermetic country in Eurasia remains just that.

According to news reports, the articles of the law state
that "no one can deny or prevent the media from disseminating information of
public interest," that government will "follow a policy of non-abuse" and "principally
ban the monopolization of media corporations and individuals," and that Turkmen
citizens are free to "use any form of media for expression and opinion to
seek, receive, and disseminate information."

In accordance, Berdymukhamedov­­­­­­ renounced his ownership of the
country's newspapers this month. But the president isn't actually abandoning
control. According to reports by Regnum News and EurasiaNet, many of the
country's newspapers will now be owned by the Cabinet of Ministers--of which the
president is head. Other publications will be owned by trade unions and the
Ministry of Education, all of which are loyal to the president. Moreover, journalists
at all outlets will still be appointed by presidential decree, according to the
reports.

The existence of media freedom and pluralism is an illusion.
The country has 39 newspapers, five radio stations, seven TV stations and one
press agency, reports Lenta.Ru. All
but one was owned by the president until January 25th of this year. The outlets
compete to best chronicle the leader's achievements and glorify the state. Even
the sole privately-owned publication, Rysgal,
was created on instruction of the president and only reports on business and
real-estate news. As far as the international press goes, U.S. government-funded
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has the last network of
correspondents in the country releasing independent news on democracy and human
rights issues to the rest of the world with only twelve stringers according to CPJ
research. Internet penetration was estimated at 5% in 2011, according to the
International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the country has the most expensive Internet
connections in the world. Authorities have removed many satellite
dishes on presidential orders.

President Berdymukhamedov's government promotes a unified
narrative about his magnanimity and the state of Turkmenistan's civil liberties.
The late President Saparmurat Niyazov dominated every sphere of life
for the Turkmen people before he died in 2006, and Berdymukhamdov has
followed suit, not losing momentum since he assumed office in
2007. According to RFE/RL,
books authored by the president, covering everything from health to horse
breeds, are required reading in schools; his portrait is everywhere; and the
streets have been renamed after his relatives. But attempting to contrast Niyazov, Berdymukhamedov
calls himself a reformer and
emphasizes Turkmenistan's "epoch
of magnificence" and "renaissance."

Nonetheless, the country's economy remains underdeveloped,
with much of the population living in poverty. Many foreign investors keep their
distance, despite Turkmenistan's expansive oil and natural gas reserves. To turn
this around, Berdymukhamedov has been actively seeking Western legitimacy. To boost
the country's credentials
as a reliable economic partner, the president disbanded some of his
idiosyncratic predecessor's draconian cultural restrictions, such as bans on circus
and opera, and adopted a new constitution in 2008.

UPDATE: The post has been corrected to reflect that at time of publication, human rights workers Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy Khadzhiyev had recently been freed after serving out their prison terms.

Nataliya Rovenskaya, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia consultant, previously worked in the Russia program at the Ford Foundation. She completed her graduate studies at Columbia University in international affairs, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia. Follow her on Twitter @NRovenskaya_CPJ.